Goodnight's sleep

I had a wonderful night's sleep (for a change). I fell asleep around 10:30 p.m. which is very early for me, I'm usually still reading at 3 a.m.; and then got up refreshed at 7 a.m. And, here I am, adding another entry into the life of the fat and unfamous. Yes, I mean "un" famous, not famous, not infamous, which connotes recognition for bad behavior, like Bonnie and Clyde. Or is that notorious? Maybe I am infamous.

My PA lost her job and is now part of the statistics that are unrecognized by the dems. It seems that every day another person I know loses their job for whatever reason, mostly outsourcing. My dear son is still without work. McDonald's here he comes, if they'll hire a middle-aged person. The only people I see working at McD's are youngsters, not yet out of high school who can't make change, and people my age who want a few hours and a few more bucks so they can pay the additional medicare up-front cost that we have to pay per month.

That really gripes me. First of all, I didn't want medicare. I have a perfectly good insurance that we have to pay for anyway because medicare doesn't pay for everything. Second, I was not given a choice. I HAD to be part of the medicare system when I hit 65. Third, they require me to take $100 per month out of my meager social security payback in addition to what I already put into the system. And fourth, I have to pay taxes on that social security payback, which is paying a tax on a tax. So at the end of it all, I'm left with barely enough social security to pay for my prescriptions even with the medicare and insurance coverage.

It always messed with my head that my father had to pay a big fat tax bill each quarter on his social security income (he qualified for a lot more than I qualify for), thus paying another tax on the tax that got him the social security in the first place. Not fair, says I, not fair.

Well, enough griping.

It's a beautiful fall day. Heard on the radio that it was 49 degrees in downtown Cincinnati at 6:30 a.m. Yes, I got up at 7, but woke up at 6:30. It's coolish in the house, but the heater is set to kick in at 68 degrees. I haven't heard it go on yet, so I guess our house is pretty tightly sealed with that pink stuff. Why, oh why, can't I think of words any more? What is that pink stuff you put in the attic called, you know, the stuff that the pink panther advertises? Another variety is the stuff you have blown in. Help! I'm going nuts trying to think of the word. Aha! Reading back my BLOG to check on sense and spelling, I recalled the word: insulation.

My ability to think of words is getting worse and worse. Parts of my brain seem to disintegrate on a daily basis. I guess that accounts for why I use small words in my ramblings. I certainly read enough of the longer words and I understand the words I read, but when I try to recall them when I'm writing or speaking, oft times, there is nothing there. My mind is a blank.

Back to the beautiful day. It's supposed to be sunny with a high of around 75 today. Perfect weather. And as my friend, Stacia, put it in her BLOG yesterday, the smell of fall is upon us. And I, too, love the smell of fall, and the look of fall.

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Miscellaneous -- journal entry

Alan and I are getting ready to head south for a few days, and getting ready to do that is becoming stressful. I don't know why.

I do know that going to the pool every other day, and sometimes more often than that, is time consuming and tiring. And, yes, I know, it's supposed to be tiring. But getting in the car and driving to the Sports Center is a nuisance. Wish I had a hottub on my porch.

And going to the mail box every day -- usually we go every other day -- but lately because of the influx of Christmas catalogs we've been going every day because the box gets too full if we miss a day at this time of the year. Not that going to the mail box is stressful, because it isn't, but deciding which catalog to keep, now that's stressful! And then deciding what to buy and what not to buy, that's expensive (and stressful).

I have been loving this weather -- cool evenings (bordering on cold), not so hot days (coolish, but not cold), a wonderful time to relax on the sun porch, watching the trees change. It seemed the day we had rain, that the tree outside the library window was changing color minute by minute. That was not the case, of course, but it was fun to pretend.

I don't like that it's dark and getting darker so many more minutes each day. I don't like the dark of winter. So, I am getting a bunch of yellow frew-frews to brighten up the place on those dull, cloudy, grey fall/winter days. The only thing good about winter is snow. Cold is nicer than heat, but snow is pretty and I really don't mind driving in it. Hate the ice, though.

I'm walking better -- less like a baby learning to walk, holding my hands out to my sides to maintain my balance, and more like an adult. It's still difficult from time to time because my right knee wants to lock up and then snap back into place. It doesn't really hurt, but the sound it makes is scary. And the fear of falling is more prevalent when the knee does that. Falling is NOT good. I mean, I have enough padding so that breakage is probably not a problem, but getting up is next to impossible. I am getting better at that, as well.

I am still climbing the steps every day, and getting better at that as well. Still not brave enough to try climbing without holding onto the railing, which means I have aid in getting up the steps. So, when I face a stair step that has no railing, I panic because I know my right knee won't support my weight, and my left knee will hurt.

And, there's the problem I have when I get out of the pool. Although with Alan's help, the pain is avoided. I cannot do it by myself. The step is too steep, and there is a railing.

Furthermore, I'm spending more time on my imaginary knees praying for the upcoming election. It doesn't matter at this point whether the house and senate changes over. The taxes remaining at 2000 levels is not gonna happen. When that sunsets, we're all -- even those of us who don't make anywhere near $250K, will have higher federal taxes. I'm bummed because an income of $40K will net a new tax (higher than currently) of $4,000.

So, no new taxes on the non-rich? That's a lie. Makes me so angry the lies that are bandied about from the Beltway.

Melissa did a great job on my hair. Just a trim, but the style is looking good. I want to get my hair all at one level, since it's straightening out, I would love to have a bob. Never had straight hair before, so the lack of curl is something I'm really enjoying. We figure it has something to do with my medicines. There doesn't seem to be any other reason for the new straight hair.

And I bought Crabtree and Evelyn's body building shampoo, and my hair is really getting thicker. Nice.

Well, gotta go now. That's ttfn, and remember this is a personal journal entry just to keep me informed on what happened on this day in my history. I know I'll forget it tomorrow. LOL

Bummer

A couple of things that I recently experienced.

First, I have a lot of trouble getting out of the pool at the sports club where we signed up so we could get our pool exercise during the winter. It's a great facility. Three pools. One is heated the others are not.

I find I have no trouble getting in and out of the unheated pool, but I'm not really fond of swimming in cool water. The heated pool is lovely, and I can swim very well and not be chilled in that pool. The trouble is...I can't get out of the darned thing. My knees while working well for walking still aren't working well (they hurt bad) for climbing anything higher than a stair step. And this step up is certain higher than a stair step. I have no trouble getting down into the pool, though. Just out.

So, after several attempts, Alan had to help me out, and boy did that hurt. So I decided I wasn't going to go swimming any more. But, I am. I have to. I'm getting so fat.

Question: How does one get fat on salads. I use no dressing, just lemon juice. And since June that's all I've been eating, except for chips and salsa, and I count the chips.

Hmmmm. Must be all those cherries I'm eating. So, again, I find a cure to pain, and it makes me fatter.

Also, after months of little to mostly no pain from fibromyalgia, I went through two days of extreme pain. I cried a lot thinking, oh no, not again. But today (Monday) I'm fine again.

Did anyone else besides me see Hallmark's program on Sunday night, Hachi: A dog's tale? Oh my goodness. I started crying half-way through the movie and couldn't stop. I mean I wasn't just dropping a few tears, I was crying out loud, sobbing actually. It was such a sad, yet, beautiful movie. If you didn't see it, and it if comes on again, watch it. It's a good, clean movie. Just be prepared with a box of Kleenexes.

Well, that's ttfn. I'll be back.

Another week has passed

Wow. I didn't realize I hadn't written for a whole week. It's not because I live such a mundane life (which I do). It's because I have had such a busy time.

My dear granddaughter, Rosie, came to spend a couple of days, and we had an absolute blast. Of course, we went shopping. I can't have my grandchildren around without buying them something. At least it seems that way.

Actually, it was her birthday lunch time -- because I'll be on vacation during her actual birth date -- and I had to get her a birthday gift.

I found these great books for 'tweens. They are by Nancy Rue. Actually, all her books are good for that age, going into the teenage years. She writes for Zondervan. The books are about girls. She has a Lucy series, a Sophie series, and a couple more girlie series which I haven't read yet. Kindle has had a few of her books in those series free, so it was a good test for me. And, of course, I got hooked, and had to read the whole series of 12 books on Sophie. The series is about how this 10/11/12-year old girl copes with the "problems" faced by girls that age. So, I got Rosie a few of the books in this series. She had completed the first one before the weekend was over even though we had a very busy weekend.

Most of the time she spent in the very cold swimming pool. I don't know how she could stand it, and she didn't turn blue. I guess all that actual swimming warmed her up. She loved it.

Of course, the pool closing party was this weekend. No cake walk this year. But the food was great, and Rosie won the prize for the last person in the pool. Her prize? Her picture will be in the community paper. She also won one game of bingo. That prize was $5. That made her very happy.

She had a wonderful time playing dress-up. My girly dress-up collection seems to be expanding and the girls enjoy playing with the clothes.

She was such a help to me this time. I told her I wanted her to live with me. We had a really good time, and even Alan got in on it. He played games -- yes, games, plural -- with her for hours. And, he didn't fade, which he has in the past. So that's another indication that he's improving. Praise God!

Today, Monday, we went down to the sports club we joined and went swimming. However, I couldn't get out of the pool with help -- the top step is really too steep, and I ripped my knee again. It's doing better. Ice helped. And, Alan lost his wallet, so we had to cancel all our credit cards, which he did as soon as we got home. Since he didn't have any money in the wallet, other than the hassle of getting a new medicare card, a new license, new credit cards, etc., it wasn't a great loss.

That's it for this episode of "Life in the slow lane."

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After the weekend

I know it's a couple of days past the weekend -- a weekend of still learning to walk again.

I didn't realize that I had been walking so differently when I was having the daily arthritis pain. Now that it's mostly gone, I am struggling to stay erect. I realize now that I will have to learn to walk again, sort of.

I don't think I can explain what it's like to be walking relatively pain-free. It's a new experience, since it's been 10 years since the first knee-wrenching experience which started my downward spiral. Oh, there were a couple of months in there when I could walk after a shot to the knee, but nothing substantial. Now, when I get out of a chair I expect pain and when it's not there I'm pleasantly surprised.

I'm still stiff and sore when I get up in the morning, but this afternoon after taking a not-sought-after nap (I fell asleep reading, again), I figured I'd be hurting when I got up, and Alan had borrowed my fall protection (the walker). However, I had no problems and was able to wobble into my office without any mishap. (nor pain).

I'm still enjoying the walks, although last Thursday and Friday when I spent a long time on my feet I thought I had lost all I had gained, but after some rest, the knees were working again, and I can now climb the stairs a little more rapidly that I used to. I still use the railing to pull me from step to step, and I can't, yet, climb a stair step without a "grab bar" of some sort.

Alan had a doctor's appointment yesterday. All is well. And his report from the oncologist is A+. (different doctor from the one he saw yesterday).

Alan is on a diet and I hope he sticks to it. I'm moderating it. He has gained so much weight, no clothing fits. And, I really don't understand why. He certainly isn't gaining weight on what I'm feeding him. He says he's not sneaking anything, so with all the exercise he's been getting this summer, I don't understand the weight gain.

Enough. Dinner awaits.

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It's Friday

Today is the last day of the work week and tomorrow is September 11. Do you remember where you were? I do. I was working at my desk at Answers in Genesis and Ken Ham called someone at the office to tell them about the first plane crashing into the WTC and for someone to find out what was going on. I called Alan and he told me a second plane had just crashed into the other tower.

Answers in Genesis had one television and the picture wasn't that good, but we sat transfixed and praying and praying for all those lost in that tragedy. I mean we were told it was possibly 50,000 people. Thank God it was not 50,000. But even one person lost to such an heinous act is one too many.

I think we finally shut down except for customer service that day because I mean, who could work? Not I. I admit it. I was and am a news junkie anyway.

Churches were open all over Northern Kentucky, including ours, and the suggested time for gathering (although we gathered early and stayed late) for prayer was something I'll never forget as one after another we prayed for our country and those who had loved ones who worked at WTC. And there were a couple of our own church people who had family who worked there. One of our dear ladies was in NYC for a week-long conference at a hotel only blocks from the center. She had been delayed in getting closer to the hotel near the WTC where her conference was being held. The family members who worked at WTC were also delayed in getting to work that day.

God is good and we rejoiced that our friends and neighbors were saved. But what about those who weren't. Do you ever think about them? I do. Did they know Christ? Where are they spending eternity? How close to being saved from the fire and implosion were they? Did they have children? Spouses? Questions that cannot and won't be answered here on this earth.

A best friend was buried today. His life was spent telling people about Christ and his determination to be like Christ in his daily life was evident by the way he lived. He had compassion and yet he could zing in and let you know where your life needed change, just as Christ did. And I think who was sent to tell those who died on 9/11 about Christ, and did they accept him or slough Him off?

I have to ask: What have I done today to show others that I am a Christ follower and am modeling my life after his example?

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Lost friends

My last posting was entitled "Friends." This one is entitled, "Lost friends."

It seems to be a "season" of losing friends. One of my bridesmaids, Dawn Anderson, went to be with the Lord on August 19. And on September 7 another friend of Alan's and mine went into the arms of Jesus. His name was Bob Gearhart.

Bob was probably Alan's best Cincinnati friend, since another of his friends moved from our city several years ago. Bob was the person we called when we had a "tool man" problem. He would hurry right on over and fix whatever was in need of his tools.

This aid really started when Alan was diagnosed with cancer. Bob fixed our house so we could get it on the market and sell it. That included reflooring a bathroom, resetting a toilet, building a new flood in the laundry room, tiling the floor, and retiling the kitchen floor. He also did miscellaneous small fix-it jobs in order to get that house fixed.

He was also an aid at our brand new -- should-not-need-repairs -- home only about two miles from his house.

Bob and Alan met often for either breakfast or lunch. Bob was Phil's boss before he retired and before Phil was outsourced.

His wife, Nancy and I, became best buds when we decided to home educate our children. It was a difficult couple of years for us at the beginning of those educating years. And our friendship grew out of that difficulty. Nancy is my partner in prayer.

Alan and I shall miss Bob. He was a quiet man. He loved Jesus and was looking forward to seeing him.

When I heard that Bob had died I envisioned him entering into the presence of his Lord, Jesus Christ, bowing down before him, and then Jesus lifting him up and giving him a hug, and saying to him "Welcome Home, Bob."

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Friends

Yesterday, I invited a friend of mine, a young lady I worked with at Answers in Genesis to go swimming at our community pool, and to stay for lunch. She brought her young son with her. Stacia and Kieran (pictures above) went swimming with Alan and me for a while, then we went back to the house for me for lunch. I enjoyed the conversation at the table, and especially loved watching Kieran.

And I have to say, that all the standing and working on getting lunch on the table was a wonderful experience for me. An experience I haven't enjoyed for several years. Not that I haven't had anyone to lunch for several years. You see, the experience, was that I had no pain in my knees or legs, or back, from 7 a.m. until 1:30 a.m., at which time I rested and read part of a book.

So, folks, I have to admit that the cherries are working for me. I shall continue taking them, praying daily that eating cherries is God's answer to the prayer I've had for almost 20 years.

I had no pain at all ALL DAY YESTERDAY, not just when I was very active. Even in the evening, which is really my worse time of the time, no pain.

You all can't imagine what it's like to be pain free. I wait for the pain, expect the pain, think the pain is going to be there, brace myself for the pain, and it isn't there.

What next? Do I take up salsa dancing? Hip hop? Or do I just enjoy being able to go shopping in a real store instead of on line? Maybe enjoy an evening out with Alan at the symphony?

Alan, too, is doing so well. He, too, is eating cherries. Not because he needs to, he just likes cherries.

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Red fruits

It seems that this summer has been a summer of fruits (and veggies).

I was so pleased to see that the Food Network Channel did an Iron Chef program where the secret ingredient was broccoli (not a red fruit, I know that) and they came up with some really delicious ways to prepare that wonderful veggie that is supposed to be a great food to eat so you don't get cancer.

But on to red fruits. I have this summer enjoyed so much the tomatoes (a red fruit, you'll never convince me that tomatoes are veggies) and have enjoyed a salad every day for the past few weeks, either with lettuce or Martha's (and my mama Rose's) tomato salad.

Tonight my dinner will be tomato salad and I have a three-inch chunk of French bread to dip in the juices. Yummy! Alan will have a hoagie, that I will prepare for him. I could enjoy a hoagie, but the tomato dish is really more appealing to me.

And then there are all those cherries. I do believe they are working. I got out of the pool today without pain -- second day in a row. I couldn't believe it. I psych myself up for that pain, and then it isn't there. It's been wonderful. I'll keep eating my 8 cherries per day and see if it really does work.

So far, so good. I can't attribute the lack of pain in my knees to anything else of late except the cherries. When I swim it hurts my knees, but I do it anyway, and then my knee joints pop and I have to stop (swimming), but I still stay in the water and float.

Alan and I are feeling so very good (and well). Is it the swimming? Is it the cherries? Is it the fresh tomatoes, right from the farm? Speaking of which, my favorite farmer down at Lunken told me that he'll have tomatoes clear up until the first frost.

I pray the frost doesn't come until December 24. I want to enjoy tomatoes for a long, long time. And, they've been available since early July, so I have been enjoying them for over two months now.



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